Protesters Push Past Security into Lockheed Martin Office in Belgium
Source Associated Press
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Anti-nuclear protesters carrying toy soldiers, drums and cow bells shoved their way into the office of U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin on Tuesday.
The protest was one of several planned for the second day of U.S. President George W. Bush's meetings in Brussels with European Union and NATO leaders.
Riot police surrounded NATO headquarters and closed off the main avenue as police helicopters watched from above. A similar security cordon was set up outside EU headquarters six kilometers (four miles) away.
Several hundred demonstrators - far fewer than expected - were kept about a block from the EU building.
In what was mostly an anti-war protest, people banged pots, pans and drums, blew whistles and chanted slogans calling on Bush to "go home."
Bush "complains that other countries have weapons of mass destruction, but they have the most weapons of mass destruction in the world. They are the biggest hypocrites in the world," said Bram Hagers, 23.
The action at the Lockheed Martin office by about 30 protesters wearing Bush masks was far from the venues of Bush's official visit, and the group had no trouble brushing past the sole security guard.